“Pommes Frites” – East Village, NYC

Jan 30

Well, I would have taken better photos from Pommes Frites than the one shown below, but even the most strong-willed of diners cannot simply sit in front of a piping hot cone of freshly fried Belgian potatoes and wait for it to be photographed; you simply dig in! My memory of NYC’s Belgian french fry movement (ok, I guess”movement” is a bit of an exaggeration…) begins around 1994 when my dad took me to a small restaurant on the Upper West Side that served nothing but Belgian Pommes Frites and poutine. The joint did not survive long, but to our dining pleasure, a similar spot called “B Frites” popped up in Midtown; while seating was limited, the fries were fantastic and the 10+ dipping sauces a hit. Then, on a brisk winter day during my middle school years, my father and I were met with tragedy as we walked up to our favorite snacking spot only to discover “B Frites” had kicked the can. I can’t quite remember if I cried, but judging by the grief my heart still bears, tears were likely. HOWEVER, the Belgian fried potato movement triumphed over past tragedies with the opening of “Pommes Frites” in the East Village. This narrow, closet-sized hotspot serves up cones of golden, twice fried Belgian spuds complemented by your choice of over 25 gourmet dipping sauces that surely have its predecessors smiling in their restaurant graves. For dipping I recommend trying the Vietnamese Pineapple Mayo, Parmesan Peppercorn, and War Sauce, but you honestly cannot go wrong here, so try something exotic! If you are not fortunate enough to snag one of the 4 stool seats or 2 small tables, grab a cone and your favorite sauce and take the snack for a walk…preferably a walk to where I live now in El Paso, Texas so I can share.

The Pommes Frites aftermath

Went digging through old facebook photos for “Pommes Frites” pics, found this one from 2007…

Another from 2007…not much has changed, just as delicious and now with more delicious dipping sauces